Garnet color, dark all the way to the clear edge. Typical red Bordeaux scents, blackcurrant and a whiff of cedar. Tart plums and currants in the flavor, palate-cleansing acidity and astringent tannins, sturdy, rational alcohol at 13.5%, with good blackcurrant fruit lingering in the finish. Characteristic Bordeaux, not the most fancy, but a good demonstration of the style in a very good vintage. U.S. importer: Cutting Edge Selections Inc., Mariemont, Ohio. (Jan. 31, 2012)

FOOD MATCH: Its good acidity and palatable tannins are a plus with traditional Bordeaux matches, rare steaks, roast beef and lamb; good with cheeses and even "meaty" vegetarian dishes like a hearty, winter-style root vegetable stew.

WHEN TO DRINK: It's drinking well now, especially with a food match to tame the light tannins, and it seems to have the necessary ingredients and balance to gain a bit with three to five more years in the cellar.

Full bodied, low acid, taste of blueberries and not much else, less tannin than I would expect for a 2-year old Bdx. If I had been serverd this blind would have guessed California. Actually not a bad wine even if it was not what I expected. Looked at the label after the first glass and it states 14.5% alc. Drank over two days without much change.

I was once given a taste of a dark, well structured wine and asked what I thought it was. My guess was N Rhone Syrah. Turned out to be a dry blueberry wine which was being evaluated for a market potential (the guy giving me the taste was a consultant enologist). Actually very impressive, but I don't know what became of the project.

Château Nodoz - Côtes de Bourg 2009 - Alc.14% (c.€9 at Rob but only <€6 at the estate!), made from Merlot 60%, CabSauv 35%, CabFranc 5% and tank aged.

I used to enjoy the sturdy wines from this estate and thought them good QPR, but I found the 2005 surprisingly angular and under-nourished. This 2009 was better; richer fruit and less obtrusive tannins; but not very exciting nor interesting QPR at the Rob's Belgian price point. I notice from the estate's website http://www.chateau-nodoz.com/nos-bouteilles that they offer more prestigious Cuvée Barriques and Cuvée Vieilles Vignes and wonder if the better grapes are not being creamed increasingly off into these. I ask whether it would not be commercially wiser from a lesser appellation like Côtes de Bourg to concentrate on making one really good value cuvée rather than dissipate effort in going for "prestige" wines as well. Any comments on this?

I decanted in order to give this young wine its best chance for expressiveness. The nose remained, however, quite shy with some damson and mineral touches. The medium bodied palate was mouth filling up-front and in mid palate but rather short on the finish; there was some agreeably round and slightly sweet red fruit, decent acidity and well covered tannins but the overall effect was rather dull. (A glass of Marionnet's basic Gamay de Touraine - <€6 - left over from the day before was both more lively and more complex!). Just 14/20. Not to be bought again at Rob's price.

2000 Chateau Lanessan, Haut Medoc: Right out of the bottle, fragant, but a a bit tight and ungiving on the palate. Color is still youthful, with violet tints (from what I could tell in a dimly lit restaurant). Really starts to open up with some swirling and time in the glass. Mid weight, still some grippy tannins, black current, hints of tobacco and capsicum, harmonious. Good food wine, everything in its place, puts the bourgeois in Cru Bourgeois. Mainly CS, 60%, with the balance mostly Merlot, it is drinking well now but could still be held.

This was a ripe and readily drinkable wine imported by Luneau USA, Westport, CT. It gave a nice bouquet of red raspberries, and red cherries on the nose and upfront. There were plums and more red fruit, some complexity and minimal tannin in the middle, and nice but quick finish.

We challenged it with browned and quickly roasted rib eye steak, and a complex but delicious succotash. Even drank some with the dessert cake. It fulfilled its mission and was a very nice wine for 13 bucks.

Joe Moryl wrote:2000 Chateau Lanessan, Haut Medoc: Right out of the bottle, fragant, but a a bit tight and ungiving on the palate. Color is still youthful, with violet tints (from what I could tell in a dimly lit restaurant). Really starts to open up with some swirling and time in the glass. Mid weight, still some grippy tannins, black current, hints of tobacco and capsicum, harmonious. Good food wine, everything in its place, puts the bourgeois in Cru Bourgeois. Mainly CS, 60%, with the balance mostly Merlot, it is drinking well now but could still be held.

I have a soft spot for Lanessan, especially with age on it. I don't have, or have never tried the 2000, but I do have a case of the 1996, which is open for business to an extent without being in danger of falling over.

My note (from last year) -

A wine that punches well above its weight, chocka-block full of left-bank “goodness” with the usual suspects to the fore - damp earth with a touch of barnyard buttressed by sweet blackcurrant, provencal herbs, cedar, spicy, savoury French oak, medium body, good length, fine acids and still lively firm tannin promising some considerable longevity for those with patience. About 87 points on my score card and excellent value for the lowly price of admission. Drink now - 2020. 13% A/V and sealed with a good quality cork.

Medium body, some acid but not overly acidic, tannin seems in balance. Fruit is more red than black and somewhat subdued. Only a little complexity at this point in time but reason to believe it will get better with a couple years in the bottle. Very nice price of $13.50. I liked this a lot better than the wine I posted on last week.

Château Dalem - Fronsac - 1998 - Brigitte Rullier-Loussert - Alc.13% - (c.€18 for current vintages); estate planted with Merlot 90%, Cabernet franc 10%. Colour was still quite dense with little bricking. The nose was quietly expressive with notes of red fruit and flowers. The palate was medium bodied with some depth of savoury flavour and fruit which was beginning to darken and develop attractive secondary hints and there was still lively acidity to maintain balance and hold off the jamminess which often affects Merlot based wines, particularly outside Bordeaux. The finish was of fair length and was well supported by slightly drying tannins; I can find no notes from previous bottles so cannot be sure whether this is a new development presaging imminent decline. So this was a very nice affordable right bank claret at, or even a bit beyond, maturity which went well with some succulent Charolais beef; 15.5/20++.

More cheating, but I couldn't resist opening this one from a case of recent old purchases from HDH that just landed earlier this week.

1995 Château La Conseillante (from half bottle - and why isn't more good table wine bottled in .375s, instead of mostly dessert wines?)Still dark red in colour, just starting to lighten at the rim a little. Beautiful aromatics that just keep developing and building with air; cedary, spicy, tobacco and floral elements around a core of deep red and dark fruits. One of those wines I could just sit there and smell for a while. It's not showing quite as much depth in the mouth just yet, still quite youthful with the fruit dominating and only hinting at some maturing flavours with some fine grained tannin beneath, but there's a lovely textural polish and impressive length. Really nice, though I'll try to wait on my other bottle (for as long as I can wait on Bordeaux in halves).

2009 Chateau Croix-Mouton (Bordeaux Superieur)Pillowy soft on the attack, but firms up a bit on the back end. Easy, rich fruit that won fans among the less geeky in attendance. I certainly would not turn down a glass, but not my preferred style. $14.99 price tag wins fans as well.

2009 Chateau Hourtin-Ducasse (haut-Medoc)This is more like it - there is still quite a bit of up front fruit, but it has more focus, and the focus carries through all the way to the finish. Still fairly easy to drink, but has enough going on that I would cellar it for a short while. At $19.99 it's firmly in the good QPR region.

2005 Chateau La Prade (Cotes de Francs)Showing what a few years in the cellar can do for an inexpensive ($20 on release) Bordeaux. The rough edges have been rounded off a bit, and it drinks well, with plenty of fruit, good mid-palate grip, and a slightly drying (more cellar time anyone?) tannins on the finish. Current releases are now in the $25 range, making the Hourtin-Ducasse the pick of this group for me. If the Prade were still $20 I might go there instead.

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.- Justice Hugo Black

Finally read through this thread. I feel bad for not contributing. In January, we tasted a few unclassifieds we've been cellaring for ten years-ish and I saved notes to post to the thread--then lost the notes. Most of the wines were disappointing, which was another problem. To post was to admit my failure in purchasing them in the first place. I also, just for yucks, bought a $7 2009 at Trader Joe's, which in fact and especially in light of the disappointments in my cellar, was surprisingly pleasant. I saved the bottle to write something about it, but Bob got his grubby little hands on it so it went out with the recycling before I realized it.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

2009 Chateau PotensacThis chateau has been an old stand by for me in prior vintages. I always enjoyed the straightforward nature of this wine, and its clear representation of left bank Cabernet. For no particular reason I had not bought any since 2000, but picked up the 2009 just to see what was up. Well what's up is the alcohol, the fruit ripeness and the oak, but only to a minor degree. In the background that clarity of Cabernet still lurks, accompanied by the attendant tannins, and even a slightly bitter edge to the fruit on the finish. It's a somewhat slicker Potensac than in years past, but still Potensac.

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.- Justice Hugo Black